Hey lovely readers, first of all, I feel I need to apologize. I took more time to update this one than I usually do, I'm so sorry.
This last week was extremely stressful and tiresome, I had uncountable homeworks and tests, and today I had another test (which I think I'll get a great note). My college is going to kill me, I'm afraid so.
So, here's our new chapter... I hope you like it! See ya!
To EvilRegalTwinnies; Sorry for the long delay... Enjoy this chapter ;)
To CCangel; Thanx ;) Yes, me too, I would love to see they turning friends at the show, but I can do this here... haha!
To emanu cristina; HAHA Mais uma Evil Regal igualzinha a mim, adoooro! Sério, muito muito obg pelas palavras maravilhosas, é por causa delas que eu continuo escrevendo. Vocês são maravilhosos! Evil kisses ;*
To opheliafrump; The wait ends TODAY! haha I'm so sorry for the delay! I love your PM's, seriously! Keep doind that!
To Guest; Thanx, you ask it, you get it. Here is your update. Let me know if you like it.
To cristina134213; WHOA! Que show seu comentário, nem acredito que minha fanfiction é isso tudo aí que você falou, assim você me deixa com a moral lá no alto. Desculpe-me pela demora em atualizar :/ e muito obg!
To MeMirellaVieira; E mais um review que eu fico babando. Eu acho que essas dualidades é tão a cara do Gold, sério! Pronto, eles já estão na cidade, preparada pra matar a curiosidade?
To mihpuretachi; As coisas ao redor de Regina sempre são desastrosas... haha Eu não tinha parado para pensar em todos esses vilões, haha isso daria uma história e tanto, né? Quanto as explicações, elas virão de pouquinho em pouquinho... beeeijos ;* Obrigada pelas reviews, vc é uma das q não podem faltar.
To Gotapenname; HAHA I'm so glad you liked my last chapter... have fun reading this one!
To Lilly Mills; O que eu posso dizer? Que review maravilhosa... eu fiquei babando horas na sua review e tive até q mostrar p algumas das minhas amigas p ver se elas se inspiram um pouquinho, mas acho que não deu certo (brincadeirinha!) Elas vão me matar, principalmente a daqui de baixo, se ler isso!
To Marina Masterson; You almost get a "(y) NICE!" ALMOST! And of course I get what you mean... Regina, my poor baby! haha ;) See ya and I want my review as soon as possible!
To anapcmesquita; (y) NICE! Yep, you get it!
To Kristy; thank you, beautiful *-* You're amazing!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 31 – I DON'T KNOW YOU
"Emma!" Snow and David ran once they saw their daughter get out of the car with Henry soon after.
"Hey... calm down... calm down." She proclaimed, suffocated between hugs and kisses.
"Are you okay?" David asked.
"Henry!" Snow hugged the boy.
"Where is Dr. Whale?" Emma asked, turning to the woman sleeping in the car.
"I'll call him," Snow ran into the hospital.
"Is she okay?" David asked a little afraid.
Emma turned back and started walking toward the car. David and Henry were right behind her.
"She's fine... I hope so." Emma sighed. "She was kidnapped, David." Emma whispered what seemed obvious. "They hurt her... she doesn't remember anything or anyone."
"I know, Emma. Your mother has told me."
"I said you were my brother." Emma said.
"What? Why?"
"What do you want me to say? My father and my mother are almost the same age as me?"
The man was speechless.
"Where's Archie?" Emma asked.
"He must be coming... He is a nervous wreck, Emma..."
Emma watched as Snow appeared at the entrance of the hospital, being followed by Dr. Whale and some nurses. She opened the passenger door and gently began to call Regina. After a few attempts, the woman woke up and realized she was in a totally new place, surrounded by people she did not know.
"Come on..." Emma reached.
"Emma..." Regina whispered a little scared. "Where are we?"
"Do you remember I promised that the first thing we would do when we got to Storybrooke was take you to a hospital?" Emma smiled at the woman who was watching her intently. "Well, we're here, let's go?"
Emma helped her out of the car and Regina realized that many of the faces that were in Henry's pictures were there. She felt tired and most of all scared.
"REGINA? REGINA!"
Archie came screaming and running towards the woman. He almost ran over the people who were in front of him. She had not noticed him screaming at first, but when everyone turned to him, she couldn't stop looking. The man ran toward her and hugged her as hard as he could. He was so nervous, so afraid of never having her in his arms that he forgot everything else.
Regina was almost suffocating in his embrace. She had no time to look at the face of the person who attacked her, he was holding her so strong, making it hard to breathe. Noticing the panicked look that Regina was giving her, Emma decided to interrupt.
"Archie! Archie!" Emma pulled him. "You're suffocating her."
But the man did not seem to care. Actually, he did not care, the only thing that mattered to him now was that she was there.
"Are you okay?" He asked desperately as he pulled away from her and put his hands on her cheeks, giving a good look at her face. "Oh my God! What have they done to you?"
"Archie, please." Emma tried again, but to no avail.
"They are fine? The girls are fine? What did they do to you, Regina, you're pale-" He was filling the brunette with questions.
"Let me go." She tried to pull away from the man, she was scared and confused with so many people around her.
"Regin-" Archie was startled by the woman's attitude towards him and tried to call her, pressing his hands against her arms, but without hurting her.
"Let me go, I don't know you, let me go!" She cried.
Emma could see the fear and confusion flooding Regina's eyes. She can also see the confusion in Archie's eyes, but she realized that the woman's words hit him in a way he was not prepared to hear. I should have told him before, I should have tried to explain what happened to her. She did not have much time to think, though, because the next second Henry was holding one of Regina's hands and she was hidden behind Emma as if she were the only person in the world who Regina trusted.
"What is... what is going on here?" Archie asked confused, realizing that Regina was looking at him with eyes full of fear.
Emma insisted to Dr. Whale to take her into the hospital and do all necessary examinations while she went back with the others to explain everything that had happened. Emma still had to convince Regina that Dr. Whale was reliable. She also had to promise that she would not leave the brunette alone in that hospital with a bunch of people she did not know, she was just going out for a few minutes to talk to them.
Luckily for Emma, Henry begged to go with Regina and Dr. Whale allowed this, at least once, at least today. The boy could leave Regina much calmer.
Emma explained everything that had happened. She said that Greg had kidnapped Regina and that she found Gold's son, who was also Henry's father. She said that Neal's fiancée, Tamara, was working with Greg and that somehow they knew about the magic of Storybrooke.
Then she had to tell how she found Regina and the things she knew they had done to her. The injured wrist, the bruised forehead and then, the shocks. Everyone was shocked, angry and confused.
"What about her memory? Why has she lost her memory? Did Rumple also lose his?" Snow asked. Archie was too upset to talk.
And, then, something else would have to be explained. She had to talk about Regina's magic and with that, she had to tell them that she already knew that long ago.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Archie asked. "I trusted you!"
"Archie-" Emma tried to calm him, but to no avail.
"No! Don't give me Archie now. You lied to me. When I was worried several times, you told me that she had magic and you made me believe it. She was in danger all this time and it's your fault! This is all your fault that she doesn't remember who she is-"
"Archie, this isn't Emma's fault." David stepped between Archie and Emma.
"Of course it is! If she had told me earlier, if she had told me before... I'd be there for her. I would be there to protect them... I love her!" Archie collapsed crying.
"I'm sorry, Archie, I'm sorry." Emma begged.
And, for the first time, Emma let the guilt hit her. She had not stopped to think that maybe, maybe she could have avoided all this if she had said that Regina was losing her magic. If anything happened to those girls, Emma would not forgive herself.
The conversation took longer than Emma expected. Emma wanted to run away. She always did that when things were not going well, she would run away. But she could not make it this time. She had Henry, she had her parents, she had a family now and she needed to take care of them.
Regina had been placed in a room. Dr. Whale explained everything. He said the babies were fine, which was a miracle, and that Regina just needed rest. He said she was dehydrated, but they would keep her in the hospital for a couple of days to take care of this problem.
Archie asked to see her, but the woman refused to receive him. Regina asked for Emma and Henry, who had already left the room. When Emma came into the room, the woman was lying on her side. Emma could only see the back of the woman and her hair dripping onto the pillow. The room was quiet and the lights were off and Emma wondered if Regina was already sleeping.
"Regina." Emma whispered, not wanting to wake the woman.
And, then, the brunette shifted and turned to Emma. Tired eyes, in fact, exhausted eyes stared at the blonde.
"You know?" Emma began, pulling out a chair and sitting near Regina. "Archie is so sad... I know you're confused and everything is confusing now, but... you should at least listen to him."
Regina looked at her with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry." She looked down. "I didn't want to do that, it's just... he just scared me and-"
"Hey, don't need to explain, ok?" Emma asked and she nodded. "But you should hear what he has to say, Regina. He is so scared and worried. He was just so scared to never see you again..."
Regina looked at Emma, she trusted this woman. Something told her she could trust her. She sighed deeply. Maybe she should give the man a chance. She was scared, but she should not have spoken that way with him, should she?
"He's still out there?"
"Of course he is. He will not leave for nothing." Emma smiled. "Can I get him?"
"You'll stay with me?"
Emma was still amazed by this version of Regina. She was different from all the versions that Emma already knew. She was gentle, naive and could get frightened easily. Perhaps this was a result of what Greg and Tamara did to her, but what if it not? What if it was who Regina was before all the crap that happened in her life?
"Hmm... I can't. You need to talk alone." She watched as Regina's eyes filled with fear again. "But I'll be out there... if you need me, just call, okay?"
The brunette nodded and Emma went to get Archie.
Less than two minutes later, a soft knock was heard at the door and it swung open revealing a worried man.
"Hey, can I..." Archie gestured with his hand inside the room.
Regina nodded. Archie came in, closed the door behind him and Regina could see that he was afraid to approach.
"You..." Regina began speaking hoarsely, "Do you want to sit down?" She pointed to the chair that had been dragged to the corner of her bed.
He smiled hopeful and sat as soon as possible. Unfortunately, a million questions were going on in his head and he was so confused. He just wanted to hug her to make sure she was indeed in his arms, that she was fine, and that their babies were fine. He also knew that she should be feeling confused and lost. He had no right to demand that she act differently with him. He stopped his train of thought by Regina's voice.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted that way with you." She said looking at the ground with her eyes full of shame and regret. "I just-"
"It's okay." He soothed. "I was just..." He looked at her hands, he wanted to hold them, but he was afraid. "I was just so worried about you and about them." He pointed to her belly and she followed him with her eyes.
She smiled at him. "They're fine," She said, rubbing her hands on her belly. "I'm fine."
Looking at the woman lying on this hospital bed, Archie felt helpless. He loved this woman, no matter what version of her. It did not matter if she was the Evil Queen, or the unmoved Mayor, or the mother, or the woman he was knowing or this new woman who was in front of him. She seemed so much smaller than she really was. She looked vulnerable and fragile. And he can't help noticing, but she seemed desperate to find herself, to remember who she was.
For the first time, he had time to notice the marks on her body that told the story that Emma had already told out there. The marks on the wrist, the wound on the forehead, and, with a closer look, the various burn marks on her neck. He was not there to protect her as he should. He felt small and helpless and, above all, he felt like he could not be the man she needed.
His thoughts were speaking louder than the woman before him. He started crying without realizing it.
"Hey..." She tried to calm him. She did not know why the man was crying. "What happened? Are you okay? I'll call the doctor." She moved to press the emergency button, but he stopped her.
"I was so afraid of losing you. I was terrified. I couldn't sleep for the last week wondering if you were fine, if they were fine... and I... I hate myself because I couldn't protect you. I said I'd be with you, but I wasn't there when you needed me most." Tears were now running freely from his eyes. "So many things happened between us and now... now that we were changing things between us... we had admitted our feelings... Now you don't even remember who I am."
"Archie... I-"
"No... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I shouldn't be talking about it to you. I'm sorry... I just-"
"It's alright."
"No, it's not alright, look at you!" He almost shouted, his hands were already shaking. Regina's eyes widened a bit with the man's tone of voice. "You're not fine. You could have died, our girls could have died, you're hurt, which means you are not fine!"
He stood up and began to pace the room, his mind racing a mile a minute. Regina did not know what to say and the silence filled the room for a few seconds.
"Can you help me to remember?" She whispered.
"What?" He was pulled from his thoughts.
"You said we were changing things between us... what does that mean? Henry told me that you are my boyfriend." And when she said the last word, a blush rose in her cheeks.
"Henry said that?"
She nodded. "Isn't it true?" She asked disappointed.
"I don't know..." He sighed, "We were working on it." He smiled at the memory.
"Can you tell me how I was... I mean, before it happened... can you tell me how I was? How did we know each other or, I don't know... whatever you think I should know..."
"I would love to." He smiled.
"Emma said I could trust you."
"And you can." He took one of her hands in his and squeezed it.
They smiled at each other.
About one hour later, Dr. Whale entered the room only to find Archie and Regina asleep. Regina was turned back to the door and Archie was sitting uncomfortably in a chair with his head resting on her bed. One of his hands wrapping her hand that had a bandaged wrist and the other placed awkwardly on her belly.
"Archie." Dr. Whale whispered the man's name, trying not to wake the woman who needed so much rest. After a few attempts, the man straightened his glasses and looked at Whale. "I need to measure her pressure, do you want to help me?"
The man nodded. He rose from his chair and gave space for Dr. Whale to approach to Regina.
"Can you lift her arm for me, please?" Dr. Whale asked and Archie nodded once again. He positioned the meter and waited for the equipment reading.
Sometime later, the equipment showed the measured pressure.
"So?" Archie asked anxiously and worried.
"The pressure is still a little low, but she is improving." The doctor explained, but he realized that Archie was still beyond explanation. "Archie, they will be fine." The doctor tried to reassure. "Regina went through a lot this week, but she will be fine and your daughters... well, what can I say? They're also Regina's daughters, they're very stubborn and strong. They'll be fine. They have already survived a miscarriage, Cora's magic and this stressful week."
"I know," The man replied dejectedly. "You're sure they're fine, right? You're not hiding anything, right?"
"I'm not. They are fine. I'll just keep Regina here for another day or two because she is still dehydrated and we'll take care of this low pressure, then you can take her home."
It had been two days since Regina was hospitalized. It was obvious that the woman in that hospital was not the Regina who everyone was used to, but she still had some quirks that did not let them forget with who they were dealing. She could have forgotten all her past, but she still hated hospitals.
"I can't stand staying in this hospital." She complained for what seemed like the thousandth time in the last two days.
Archie and Snow smiled.
"It's for your own good, Regina." Snow insisted.
"And for our girls' health." He said with a reassuring smile, but it only increased when he saw a blush rising to Regina's cheeks. Was she ashamed?
When Regina woke up the next day, Archie was sleeping beside her. He had spent the whole day with her and when the night came, Emma insisted that he go home to take a shower, rest and eat something. He, of course, did not accept, he wanted to spend every second with her. Archie just left after Snow appeared saying that she would like to spend some time alone with her.
They talked and Snow took advantage to meet this new Regina. She was beautiful, naive, innocent, gentle and loving. She remembered the woman Snow met, the woman who saved her from a horse, the woman before all the black magic, revenge, hatred and darkness of her life.
Snow introduced herself as Emma's sister-in-law and Regina loved being with her. They spent some time talking and laughing at the stories that Snow was telling and, for a moment, Snow found herself wondering what would have become of their relationship if all the bad things had not happened between them. In a strange way, Regina felt even safer with this woman. There was something about her that made her feel at home, something extremely familiar. Something she had in her eyes that even Henry had not. She felt she could trust her, as well as Emma and Archie.
Now, Snow and Archie were in Regina's room trying to convince her that staying in the hospital was the best, but she was Regina after all.
But, from all that this new Regina could present of difference, there was something that was really catching everyone's attention who saw the interaction between Regina and Archie. The woman was shy around Archie and it was funny because the old Regina was never shy, but this? When Archie held her hand and spoke "our daughters" everyone could see the blush that graced her cheeks.
"Please... I hate hospitals." Regina insisted once again.
"I'll talk with Dr. Whale, ok?" Archie said and left the room.
Dr. Whale did not allow many people to visit Regina, just Archie, the Charmings, Henry, Ruby and Granny. The problem was that they were all afraid to let her leave the hospital. They could not take the risk of a citizen running after her calling her Evil Queen, much less allow Regina to see some kind of magic in the city, which was almost impossible, considering that the city itself was magic.
Another problem was that Archie did not want to take advantage of Regina. He wanted her to want him, he wanted to conquer her and not impose memories defining what kind of feeling she should feel. He did not want Regina to be alone in that mansion, this was not an alternative, but he would not be there without the real Regina asked, the woman he fell in love with and the woman who was in love with him. Thus, Emma insisted that she would be in the house with her and Henry.
"Regina, I'm releasing you, but I need you to rest as much as possible. We can control your blood pressure and you're still a little dehydrated, so the feeling of weakness will be common for a few more days, besides the fact that you are pregnant with twins, Regina. I hope that you comply with all the recommendations that I'm going over and take the medicine at the right times." Dr. Whale explained.
"Ok." She nodded. "Thank you, doctor."
She had this gentleness in her voice that was new to everyone, except Snow. No one was used to seeing her freely smiling and genuinely thankful.
"And I want to see you next week. Our consultations will be weekly from now on." He continued.
"Ok." She nodded seriously now, noting the serious voice that Dr. Whale was using.
Archie, Snow, David, Henry and Emma were all there. Henry ran in front carrying a small bag of clothes. Archie helped Regina out of bed and left the room together, being followed by David and Snow. Dr. Whale motioned for Emma to stay. Once everyone was gone, he spoke.
"Emma, make sure that she rests and takes her meds, please."
"Okay, I got it." She said and ran to catch up.
When they left the hospital, the group split into two. Snow and David were in one of the cars and Emma, Henry, Archie and Regina went to Emma's car. When they reached the yellow car and Emma started to open the driver's door, she noted Regina frowning. Before she could ask what had happened, Regina interrupted.
"I'll not get into this car." Regina said with wide eyes as she shook her head.
"What?" Emma asked astonished.
"Why?" Henry turned to face her.
"This can't even be called a car. It still works?" Regina asked and everyone realized she was not joking, she was being dead serious.
The three burst into laughter. Regina really hated that car. No matter which version of her, she just could not let it go.
"You really don't like the car, do you?" Emma asked.
"I'll not go into it." She repeated
"Come on, Regina." Emma insisted trying to persuade Regina.
"No way." She shook her head once more.
And she did not go. She would not get into that car if she decided she would not go, no matter if she was the Mayor, the Evil Queen, young Regina or Regina without memories.
Snow, watching from afar and realizing the interaction among the group, called Regina to go with them and the woman nodded hastily. They went straight to the mansion.
"Wow! What a big house!" She spoke from inside the car. "Why did we stop here?"
David looked in the mirror and laughed of the delighted face Regina had.
"You live here, Regina." Snow explained.
"Really?" Regina said with wide eyes. "I live in this mansion?"
"Yeah." She smiled. "Let's go."
The yellow car came soon after. They made their way to the house, watching with amusement on Regina's startled face, and at the same time, marveling.
So, guys. FINALLY! haha Regina is back...
There is so much coming! So many feelings, confusion, doubts, uncertainties... ah, romance... my poor "Regal Cricket" heart!
Let me know what you think!
Kisses ;*